When I was in college, I took a few horsemanship classes. They drilled into our heads these ten qualities:
Respect
Impulsion
Flexion
Attitude
Feel
Timing
Balance
Savvy
Experience
Awareness
If you try to live your life with these qualities, you may be surprised how things turn out.
Respect:
Some people say respect is earned, not given. I have to disagree with this. We have to start with a level of respect for others and their property. From there the level of respect we have for each other will swing depending on situations we encounter and things we see and learn about one another. If we handle a situation with grace and mercy, that level of respect goes up. If we jump down someone's throat and accuse them of things without getting facts, the level of respect goes down.
Just like working a horse. You have to walk into that round pen with a strong respect for that horse you have never met, or you could end up hurt. You have to get to know them. People who come into our lives are no different.
Impulsion:
Life needs to move forward. That is all impulsion is, forward momentum. Sometimes we get stuck in the past, thinking about how things used to be, or wanting to live our "glory days" again. We need to MOVE FORWARD. Chase your dreams, see where life will take you... Also, forgive and move forward! "Let it go".
Flexion:
Especially in our daily lives we need to be flexible. Flexion is all about being able and willing to transition from plan A to plan B. I personally have never had a day that went exactly as I expected. I needed to shift/flex plans or my mindset each and every day! If you don't you will be very upset and disappointed. We are all a part of Gods plan, not what we think is His plan. That being said we have to see the signs he puts in front of us and change gears to work on that plan.
Attitude:
This is your attitude about life as well as toward others. We all have bad day's but you are in control of changing or making sure it doesn't affect your attitude. If we make sure we have a positive attitude about trying something new, it is usually a good experience.
Your attitude is powerful! Have you ever walked into a room, and you could sense the tension, attitude can help make or break that situation. It is up to you.
Feel:
Feel is one of my favorites, even though it is very hard to simply describe. You have to learn how to "feel". In training horses, it is about feeling that tension in their back if they are going to buck or bolt. Feeling for that correct lead, is their hip coming in just that little bit or their shoulder dropping down and you have to correct it.
For people it could be that feeling of genuine connection with another. Knowing when someone just simply needs someone to talk to or a smile to turn their day around.
It could also be walking into a situation, getting a feeling, and knowing you need to get out. Some would call that a "gut feeling". Me, I call it a God feeling...
Timing:
Oh man is life about TIMING!!! God's perfect timing!
We all have great plans! We all DO! However, our timing and God's timing on when those great plans will come to fruition are TOTALLY different. I do believe He puts ideas on our hearts, and we are meant to follow them, but it may not be that day, or month, or year. We have to wait and step forward when we are led by Him. (This is also when feel comes back into play.)
Balance:
My all-time favorite and the hardest to master.... balance. In life everything needs balance. If you focus too much on one thing then another thing lacks or gives. We all struggle with this. The food we eat, the new friends we make, ranching or work.... it all needs balance. If we eat too much of one thing our bodies will get upset with us, so like the doctors say, eat a balanced diet. When we meet new people and they become friends, we still have to stay connected with the "old" friends or they may feel left out. This takes balance. Work, in our case ranching, if we focus so much on one project and forget to put out minerals for the cows, they could look rough come spring (if it happened more than once). I think you get the point! It is hard to master yet very important!
Additionally, your balance between life and God. Our lives are so busy, but we need to make time to be silent with God. Make sure you take the time to go to Church, pray over your meals as a family, and pray for others.
Savvy:
Common sense or the ability to make good judgement calls is important in life as well. It does come with experience. I remember in college some girls were into a certain brand of clothes and kept pushing me to buy that $30 ball cap, $150 vest, and $150 jeans. My choice then to save money helped Dalton and I purchase this ranch today. We were saving up to purchase a brand-new pickup. We were working on acquiring assets. That was a good call even 12 years before we purchased our ranch.
Savvy also can be keeping quiet when you are being attached. Personally, I have been through this more than once. People will say all sorts of horrible things about others. Don't join them. It is confusing as to why others behave this way but that doesn't mean you have to join them. Stop the cycle and walk your own path. It is hard and can sometimes be lonely, but I promise at least you won’t lose who you are inside. That is SAVVY!
Experience:
Your experience leads to your perspectives, confidence, and opinions. You have to try new things in order to gain any of these qualities. You also have to have experience in order to have any of the other qualities of horsemanship.
With horses you have to ride a LOT to gain experience. You cannot hop on a horse for the first time and expect to “feel” a lead. You cannot have confidence on any horse without riding many different horses. You will not be able to form opinions as to why a horse is doing something without that experience from riding many over a long period of time.
Experience is key for perspective, confidence, and opinion. Just remember to stay humble or that horse may still buck you off!
Awareness:
Seeing and understanding what is going on around you is awareness. Being aware of others and how they are feeling helps guide your genuine connection. Also, with kids, being aware of what they are doing to help guide them to become better adults.
On the ranch awareness can be life or death. When working cows if you are un-aware of that rank mama you may be laid out flat. Watching for that tractor bucket while unloading a pallet can save your arm or leg. That is just life out here.
I sure hope you got something of your own from reading these qualities of horsemanship. They are powerful and they ALL are important. A strong balance of following each one is important in life.
